The group of professional women heard expert marketing tips from business coach, speaker and author Michelle Gill Newton, a former marketing manager in the publishing industry. Final plans for the Chapter’s upcoming fashion fundraiser on October 4th were discussed.

The meeting commenced with a welcome note from Anjali Chugh, Forest Hills Chapter President and was followed by a lively networking session.

The President made a few announcements about the upcoming fashion fundraising event to be held October 4th and gave an update about ticket sales to the attendees.

She encouraged members to contribute to the event’s raffle segment, participate as an exhibitor and to purchase tickets to the event. A significant number of attendees offered to volunteer at the event and to give away some attractive items as raffle prizes.

“The Forest Hills Chapter’s October 4th fashion fundraising event is a wonderful venue for business owners to showcase their products and/or services and for everyone to support a very worthy cause,” said President Chugh.

All of the proceeds from the event will benefit S.H.A.D., a nonprofit that provides healthcare services, support and education to low income, impoverished Haitian women, and their unborn babies, infected with the HIV/AIDS.

The Chapter President then introduced guest speaker Michelle Newton.

“Michelle Gill Newton is a wife and mother, home-based business coach, speaker and published author of Direct Sellers Secrets to Staying Inspired- Your SSI and e-book Sales in the Social Media Age: It Isn’t Just Door to Door Anymore, said President Chugh, as she invited the speaker to take the floor.

Ms. Newton told the group of professional women that she worked as a marketing manager for Time Warner Cable of New York City, Time Warner Inc. and then Doubleday Book Clubs.

In 2004, she was introduced to the industry that she fell in love with and where she found her passion: direct sales/network marketing. After the downsize of her corporate job and the abrupt closure of two direct sales companies she was a part of, Ms. Newton said she was inspired to write her first book.

Ms. Newton is now an independent sales consultant for Mary & Martha, a direct sales company. She regularly speaks at companies throughout New York City about how to stay motivated in business. She combines her passion for marketing, events and sales in her order to effectively run her business today.

The speaker’s presentation focused on creating different streams of income and identifying the right customer base for a business. Ms. Newton offered valuable tips to members and guests for achieving success in the business world, namely, the importance of branding a business, identifying target customers, understanding the needs and behaviors of potential customers, creating a niche, writing books, creating CDs or e-books, speaking at events and joining a networking organization of like-minded people such as NAPW.

“The easiest and fastest source of earning supplemental income is the Direct Selling Association (DSA),” said Michelle. “It’s a national trade association of some of the leading firms that manufacture and distribute goods and services directly to customers.”

The National Association of Professional Women (NAPW) is the largest and most recognized network of female professionals. NAPW provides a forum where women can interact, exchange ideas, educate, network, and empower. NAPW Local Chapters allow members to maximize their experience through meetings, networking opportunities, and professional events.